Self contained training and exercising oar



July 4, 1933. R. F. BURKE SELF CONTAINED TRAINING AND EXERCISING OAR Filed July 9, 1932 Java 15 JZwaIflTmr/h Patented July 4, 1933 UNITED STATES ROBERT F. BURKE, F PHOENIXVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA SELF CONTAINED TRAINING AND EXERCISING OAR Application filed July 9, 1932. Serial No. 621,615.

My invention relates to a new anduseful improvement in self contained training and exercising oars, and has for its object to provide an exceedingly simple and effective device of this description which. when in use will give to user the feel of rowing a boat.

.A further object of this invention is to utilize a plunger swinging back and forth in a cylinder or barrel for forcing a fluid around the plunger and then backthrough suitable openings in said plunger, this action of the plunger giving the proper resistance to the pull on the oar.

A further object of theinvention is to provide an extension of the barrel or. cylinder.

in the form of an arm and pivot the outer end of said arm to a pin or bolt, and likewise to pivot the outer end of the piston rod so that when the barrel is swung back and forth the piston will be moved, on straight lines, back and forth within said barrel, the

pivoting of the piston rod being such as to permit this back and forth movement of the barrel. p

A further object of the invention is to provide for the vertical swinging of the oar to correspond with dipping the blade of an oar into the water and raising said blade clear of .the water, and to normally hold the exercising oar up by spring or similar action.

A further object of the invention is to provide for turning the handle of the exercising oar on its axis in following the movements of feathering an ordinary oar, and to give a visual indication of these'feathering movements.

A still further object is to embody the actuating mechanism as a part of the device thereby providing a self contained training and exercising oar.

With these and other ends in View, this invention consists in the details of construction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth and then specifically desig nated by the claims.

In order that those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains may under stand how to make and use the same, I will describe its construction in detail, referring by numerals to the accompanying draw ing forming a part of this application, in

Fig. 1 is a side view of my improved train.-. ing and exercising oar, the barrel being sectioned to show the operating parts therein.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the device.

Fig. 3 is" a cross section on the line 33 of Fig. 1. I

In carrying out my invention as herein embodied, 10 represents a cylinder or barrel having a head 11, preferably threaded thereon as shown, said head carrying a stuifing box 12 which a suitable packing 13 is' compressed by the stuffing nut 14. In this barrel the piston or plunger 15 is fitted to slide, said piston havingone or more packing rings 16 for the usual purpose. This piston is connected to the piston rod 17 which passes through" the stuffing box and terminates in a head 18, the latter having an elongated slot 19 therein for the hereinafter explained.

20 represents an extension of the cylinder or an arm projecting rearward from said cylinder andterminating in a head 21, said head having a holeformed therein in which is set a hardened bushing 22.

23 represents a swinging plate which is pivoted. at 24t0 the plate after the manner of a hinge and this last named plate is secured by the screws 26 or in any other suitable manner to the support block 27 This swinging plate is supported in its normally elevated position by the spring 28 here-shown as a leaf spring, but which may be in any desired or convenient form, or the swinging plate may be held in its normally elevated position a suitable weight properly arranged for that purpose.

The head 18 of the piston rod is pivoted to the swinging plate 23 by the stud bolt 29 project ng upward from said plate and passing through the elongated slot 19 as clearly shown in Fig. 2. while the head 21 of the arm 20 is pivoted to said swinging plate by the stud bolt 30, also projecting upward from said plate through the hardened bushing.

This construction while permitting the cylinder to be swung provides for straight purpose.

line movements of the piston and its'rod. The barrel is provided with a by-pass 31 which leads from the inner end of this cylinder to the reservoir 32, the interior of which latter communicates with the interior of the barrel upon the opposite side of the piston, said reservoir serving to, take care of the liquid displaced by the piston rod 17. This reservoir has a threaded opening in the top thereof into which the screw 33 is run to provide for adding an additional supply of fluid to the system.

34 represents a stuffing box formed upon the loy-pass casing adapted to carry the packing material 35 upon which the stuffing nut 36 is seated and through this. stuffing nut is threaded a screw 37, the lower end of which projects downward into the passageway of the by-pass so that by adjusting said screw up or down, the capacity of this passageway may be varied for increasing or decreasing the flow of the fluid from the inner end of the cylinder to the outer end thereof.

The piston has formed therethrough the opening 38, and 39 represents a valve disc slidably mounted on the screw 40 for closing said openings or opening the same. The cylinder carries an enlargement 41 in which is formed a socket for the reception of the inner end of the handle 42 of the exercising oar and this handle preferably has thereon a metal ferrule 43 for fitting into said socket to prevent wear upon the handle, which is.

usually of wood.

A circumferential groove 44 is formed in the enlargement 41 in which the pin 45 travels when the handle of the oar is turned on its axis, this pin being securely set in the handle and the groove is provided with a notch 46 through which the projecting end ofsaid pin may be passed inserting-the end of the handle in the socket or withdrawing the same therefrom. Said pin, groove and notch corresponding to the elements of a bayonet joint.

From the foregoing description, the operation of my improved self contained training and exercising oar will be obviously as follows 1 The cylinder having been properly filled with a suitable fluid, such as oil or glycerin, the grasping of the handle by the user of the device and the swinging back and forth of said handle after the manner of rowing will cause the plunger to be forced inward in the cylinder upon the pull on the handle corresponding to the pull stroke on an oar and this backward movement of the plunger will close the valve 39 preventing the fluid from flowing through the openings 38, thereby forcing it to flow through the by-pass 31 and the capacity of this by-pass is regulated to offer the desired resistance to the pull movement of the handle, said pull movement will i give approximately the same feel to the user of the device that would be attended upon the use of an oar in rowing a boat. Reverse movement of the handle will move the plung er in the reverse direction forcing the fluid upon the outer end of the cylinder through the openings 38 into the opposite end of the cylinder, the valve 39 being forced open by the flow of the fluid through said openings- During these rowing motions, the arm 20 and cylinder carried thereby will rock back and forth upon the stud bolt 30 while the head 18 will have not only a swinging movement upon its stud bolt 29, but will also have suiiicient sidewise play to permit said head to accommodate the swinging movement of the cylinder. y 1

, During the rowing movements of the handle, said handle may be swung upward and downward due to the plate 23 being pivoted to the plate 25, and the handle may also be rotated on its axis thus providing for not only the duplication of the back and forth rowing movements but also for the duplication of the dipping and raising the blade of the car and likewise the feathering of the can,

As my improved device is intended for training beginners in rowing and also for accomplished oarsmen to exercise thereon, a. visual signal 47 is secured to the handle so that the pupil or person exercising may see that the handle is being turned sufficiently to correspond to the feathering movements of an oar and also to enable a teacher or trainer to observe at a glance whether or not the pupil or person exercising is properly using the device. v. i 7

Of course I do not wish to be limited to the exact details of construction herein shown and described as these may be varied within the limits of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of my invention. 7

Having thus fully described my invem tion, what I claim as new and useful is:

1. In a self contained training and exercising device for duplicating the movements of rowing, a cylinder, an arm extending from said cylinder, a member to which said arm is pivoted, a piston fitted to slide within cylinder, a piston rod'eXtending from the piston through one head of the cylinder, said piston rod being pivoted to said member in such manner as to provide for a sliding movement upon its pivot point, a by-pass leading from one side of the piston to the other side thereof, means for regulating the flow of a fluid contained in said cylinder through said by-pa'ss, and meansfor-regulating the flow of said fluid through openings in the piston.

2. In a' self contained training and exercising device for duplicating the movements of rowing, a cylinder, an arm extending from said cylinder, a member to which said arm is pivoted, a piston fitted to slide within said cylinder, a piston rod extending from the piston through one head of the cylinder, said piston rod being pivoted to said member in such manner as to provide for a sliding movement upon its pivot point, a bypass leading from one side of the piston to the other side thereof, means for regulating the flow of a fluid contained in said cylinder through said by-pass, means for regulating the flow of said fluid through openings in the piston, and an extension of the cylinder having a socket therein and a circumferential groove around said socket, a handle one end of which is adapted to fit and turn Within the socket, a pin carried by the handle for travel in the groove, said groove having a notch leading thereto for the passage of the pin when inserting or withdrawing the handle.

3. In a self contained training and exercising device for duplicating the movements of rowing, a cylinder, an arm extending from said cylinder, a member to which said arm is pivoted, a piston fitted to slide within said cylinder, a piston rod extending from the piston through one head of the cylinder,said piston rod being pivoted to said member in such manner as to provide for a sliding movement upon its pivot point, a by-pas s leading from one side of the piston to the other side thereof, means forregulating the flow of a fluid contained in said cylinder through said by-pass, means for regulating the flow of said fluid through openings in the piston, an extension of the cylinder having a socket therein and a circumferential groove around said socket, a handle, one end of which is adapted to fit and turn within the socket, a pin carried by the handle for travel in the groove, said groove having a notch leading thereto for the passage of the pin when inserting or withdrawing the handle, and an indicator carried by the handle in such manner that the rotations of the handle upon its axis may be followed by the eye.

4. In a self contained training and exercising device for duplicating the movements of rowing, a cylinder, an arm extending from said cylinder, a member to which said arm is pivoted, a piston fitted to slide within said cylinder, a piston rod extending from the piston through one head of the cylinder, said piston rod being pivoted to said member in such manner as to provide for a sliding movement upon its pivot point, a by-pass leading from one side of the piston to the other side thereof, means for regulating the flow of a fluid contained in said cylinder through said by-pass, means for regulating the flow of said fluid through openings in the piston, an extension of the cylinder having a socket therein and a circumferential groove around said socket, a handle, one end of which is adapted to fit and turn within the socket, a pin carried by the handle for travel in the groove, said groove having a notch leading thereto for the passage of the pm when inserting or withdrawing the handle, an indicator carn ried by the handle insuch manner that the rotations of the handle upon its axis may be followed the eye, a plate to which said member is pivoted, and means for normally holding said member in an elevated position while permltting its up and down swlnging movements In testimony whereof, I have hereunto affixed my signature. I

ROBERT F. BURKE. 

